Surfing South Africa (SSA) is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

for the

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

in South Africa, and a recognised member of the world governing body, the

International Surfing Association The International Surfing Association (ISA) is the world governing authority for surfing, SUP racing, SUP surfing, bodyboarding and all other wave riding activities. The ISA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee. After the 2022 ...

(ISA). SSA is also an affiliate of the

South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) ( af, Suid-Afrikaanse Sportkonfederasie en Olimpiese Komitee) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for South Africa, and the respon ...

(SASCOC), which, alongside

Sport and Recreation South Africa Sport and Recreation South Africa (also known as the Department of Sport and Recreation) was until 2019 the department of the Government of South Africa responsible for sport in South Africa. In June 2019 it was merged with the Department of Arts ...

(SRSA) supervises all organised sport in South Africa. SSA is responsible for the control of all aspects of Surfing in South Africa, from entry-level participation to the management of the elite level Pro Surf Tour (PST). Provincial bodies, along with the SA Longboarding Association, the SA Bodyboarding Association and the SA Students Surfing Association are all affiliated to Surfing South Africa.

History

Surfing as a sport in South Africa started in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

around the 1940s. The South African Surfing Association (SAFA) was founded in 1965. Around the middle of the 1960s surfing began to reach popularity worldwide, surfers from South Africa were at the vanguard of this movement. The popular surf film

The Endless Summer ''The Endless Summer'' is a 1966 American surf documentary film directed, produced, edited and narrated by Bruce Brown. The film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the world. Despite the balmy mediterranea ...

endeared many people to the waves of

Kwazulu Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locat ...

, the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

and the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

. This exposure led to the hosting of many surfing competitions in South Africa. The Gunston 500 was first hosted at Bay of Plenty Beach in Durban in 1969. The Gunston grew into a major South African sporting attraction during the holiday season attracting huge crowds to the Durban beachfront. Other events, including the 1978 ISA World Championships at Nahoon Reef in East London were hosted followed by the Spur Steak Ranch Surfabouts, that used a mobile venue and featured many of the best surfers in the world during the mid 1980s and the Billabong Pro contests hosted in

Jeffreys Bay Jeffreys Bay ( af, Jeffreysbaai, nicknamed J-bay) is a town of 27,107 inhabitants as of the 2011 census in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It Is the seat of the Kouga municipality and is famous amongst surfers as a surf capital due ...

. Following it all was the Quiksilver ISA World Surfing Games held in Durban in 2002 and the Mr Price Pro competition that replaced the Gunston 500

Surfers

Locations

References

External links

Official website

International Surfing Association Official website
Surfing in South Africa

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

1965 establishments in South Africa Sports organizations established in 1965 Surfing governing bodies {{Sport-org-stub

History

Surfers

Locations

See also

References

External links